Combustion turbine plant



July 1,1941. A MEYER 2,247,845

coMBUs'IION TURBINE PLANT Filed June 6, 1959 @if www/*Mik www.

burned under -constant pressure.

Patented July l, 1941 Colus'rloN TURBINE PLANT Adolf Meyer, Kusnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Aktiengesellschaft Brown, Bovell & Cie, Baden, Switzerland, a joint-stock company Y Application Juno 6,193.9, serial No. 277,73

In Germany April 20, 1938 3 Claims.

This invention relates to combustion turbine plants, and particularly to apparatus for combining high efficiency with small space requirements. i

It has been proposed to increase the eftlciency of a constant pressure combustion turbine plant allowable value. part ofthe combustion gases Y passes to the turbine la on a' shaft 5 that carries the rotor element of the blower -I andthe rotor bylheating the air from the blower by heat abstracted from the gases exhausted from the gas turbine, and by dividing theturbine into a plurality of sections between which the driving gases are subjected to an intermediate heating' by burning in auxiliary combustion chambers. The rst method is open tothe objections that .extensive heat exchange surfaces, which result in a considerable loss of pressure, are required to obtain an appreciable increase in efllciency.

The second method is open to the objection that the space requirements are materially increased by thebinter-stage combustion chambers and by the large diameter pipes or conduitsfor handling the large quantities of gas in a constant' pressure gas turbine system, f

An object of this invention is to provide a-gas turbine plant ofrelatively small size and high eiiiciency in which `separate turbines are employed for driving the air blower and for developing -useful power, the portion of the plant, which operates the blower being de ignedfor of a second turbine 4b. The gases exhausted from the turbine 4a pass to a second combustion l chamber 6 where additional fuel from` the pipe@ is burned to increase the pressure of the gases supplied to the turbine 4b.` The exhaust from the turbine 4b passes through the heat exchanger 1 to preheat the airvfrom blower I' before itarrives at the combustion chamber 2.

The turbines 4a, 4b drive the blower I but do not develop additional' power for carrying the load of the combustion vturbine plant. A pipe 8 extends from the combustion chamber 2 to the ahead and astern power turbines il, I 0, respectively, that have a common shaft carrying a pinion I I that meshes with a gear I2 on the propeller shaft I3. Control' valves I4, I5,` respectively, are provided inthe pipe connections to the power turbines. The power turbines exhaust to 'atmosphere and therefore are not subj'ectto the back pressure against'which turbines 4a, 4b Work by exhausting into a heat exchanger.

The power gases, or energy in thepower gases,

supplied to the power turbines is not employed with the same eiiiciency as the power gases that higher efnoienoy than the portion of the plant that develops useful power. vide a combustion gas turbine plant that is characterized by separate turbines for developing useful power and' for driving the blower system, the turbine equipment for operating the blower including a plurality of turbines connected through a 'recuperator, intermediate,A heater 4or other device' for increasing the elliciency of tha portion of the complete installation.

These and other lobjects and advantages of the .invention will be apparent from `the following specication when taken with the`accompanying vdrawing in which the singleA view is a schematic illustration of a combustion turbine plant embodying the invention.

The particularv embodiment of the invention 'which is illustrated in the drawing is employed l for ship propulsion. The reference numeral I An object is to proydrive the turbines 4a, Ib for operating the blower, but certain advantages are obtained by the,- described construction. The plantlassembly is simplified, with a substantial reductionin 1 space requirements, by exhausting the gases from the power turbine or turbin s t0 atmosphere and employing only, the exh ust from the blower-driving turbines to preheat the air supply. About three-fourths ofthe total output is -developed by the blower-driving turbines and f therefore approximately the maximum eiilciency is obtained without abstracting energy from the f exhaust from the power turbine.

'I'he turbine or turbines that-develop .useful power do not operate against -the back pressure identifies the blower for supplying air under pressure to a combustion chamber!! to which fuel is supplied through a pipe or conduit 3, and

of air is substantially in excess of that required for complete combustion of the fuel, for example about three times the minimum required quan'- tity, to reduce the combustion temperature an;

The quantity f of a heat exchanger, the-size of theadditional combustion chamber Ii is reduced and, 'for the same useful power the weight of the assembly is'reduced in comparison with prior'systems or,

for the same vtotal weight, vgreater useful power.v

is developed. In the caseof'ship propulsiomthe control and reversing are facilitated and the starting time is `reduced' when the heat storage masses previously associated with the power turbines are' eliminated.

. It is to -be understood that the invention is i l ot limited to the particular embodiment herein described as similar advantages may be vobtained when the load on the turbine plant does not re'-` quire a reversal of the direction of drive of the power system.

I claim: Y 1. In a combustion turbine plant, a comb'ustion chamber, blower means for delivering air to said chamber, means for supplying fuel to said chamber, turbine means comprising a pair of turbines for driving said blower means, inlet bustion chamber, a blower for delivering air to said chamber, means for supplying fuel to said chamber, a turbine operating on pressure gases developed in said chamber for operating said blower, a power turbine operating in parallel with said first turbine on pressure gases developed in said chamber, said power turbine exhausting against a substantially lower back pressure than that of said blower-driving turbine, and meansfor recovering energy from the exhaust of said blower-driving turbine; said energy-recovering means comprising' a second blower-driving turbine mechanically coupled to the iirst blower-driving turbine, and means for heating the exhaust gases from the first blowerdriving turbine and delivering the heated exhaust gases to the second blower-driving turbine to actuate the same. Y

' 3.v In a combustion turbine plant, a combustion chamber, a blower for delivering air to said chamber, means for supplying fuel to said charnber, a turbine having a plurality of sections for simultaneously driving said blower, means for passing in succession through said sections of the turbine pressure gases developed in said combustion chamber, means intermediate an adjacent pair of sections of said turbine for heating the pressure gases passing from one turbine section to the other, a single section turbine for developing power, and means for supplying to said power turbine pressure gases from said combustion YVchamber and at the pressure of the gases supplied 'to the highest pressure section of said blower-driving turbine, said single section turbine exhausting to atmospheres ADOLF MEYER. 

